“Eventually, everything connects” – Charles Eames
As the class is coming to an end, it has forced me to think
about all the units we have learned about. The quote Professor Vesna
highlighted in the beginning of her lecture video, of which I also posted
above, is highly relevant. Eventually everything does connect from Math,
Nanotech, and Space.
Space has been quite mysterious and intriguing to people in
various fields. The short clip, “Powers of Ten” made by the office of Charles
and Ray Eames shows us the relative size of things in the universe. With the
help of mathematical measurements, the film allows the viewer to realize how
small we really are and how much we still have yet to understand of the
universes around us (let alone our universe).
Thus, space exploration seemed like the perfect step in
getting us acquainted with our surroundings.
[Image 1: Laika the Space Dog]
Although Laika did not survive her journey back on Sputnik 2
in 1957, she paved the way for future space travelers like Yuri Gagarin (1961),
Alan Shepard (1961), John Glenn (1962) and the first man on the moon Neil
Armstrong (1969).
[Image 2: Neil Armstrong - first to walk on moon]
These successful events in space were “one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind” and various influential steps in popular
media, TV and film.
A few years after the “space race” and the journey into
space for Yuri and Alan, a new “futuristic” animated sitcom went on air.
[Image 3: The Jestons]
This popular sitcom family lived in a utopian world full of
robots and holograms. Although there was not a set year in which they lived in,
the animation was important because it hinted at the world of the future, which
I assume was on people’s minds since we successfully landed on the moon and
returned safely. Furthermore, the idea of space travel allowed for the creation
of Star Wars, which became an epic
blockbuster, successful franchise and brought about a new culture. As one of my
colleagues in my film class stated, “everything changed with Star Wars.”
[Image 4: STAR WARS Title Card]
Even today, space is still society’s muse. There is a lot of
NASA’s funding going towards Elon Musk’s SpaceX and films like Gravity (2013)
and Interstellar (2014) have us rushing to the theater or our nearest Redbox
because we want to know more about space. Plus, for many of us, art is the only
way we would be able to experience it ($250,000 for a ticket to space…no
thanks).
WORKS CITED:
Clash, James.
"My Ticket Into Space Looks Cheap, Price Soars to $250,000."Bloomberg.com.
Bloomberg, 18 Aug. 2013. Web. 29 May 2015.
"Company." SpaceX. N.p., n.d. Web. 29
May 2015.
Dohrer, Elizabeth.
"Laika the Dog & the First Animals in Space | Space.com." SPACE.com.
N.p., 25 Sept. 2012. Web. 29 May 2015.
"Neil
Armstrong: First Man on the Moon | Space.com."SPACE.com. N.p., 25 Aug.
2013. Web. 29 May 2015.
Novak, Matt.
"50 Years of the Jetsons: Why The Show Still Matters."Smithsonian.
N.p., 19 Sept. 2012. Web. 29 May 2015.
"Powers of Ten (1977)." YouTube.
YouTube, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 29 May 2015.
Vesna, Victoria. "Space Pt4." YouTube.
YouTube, 30 May 2012. Web. 29 May 2015.
